Surviving the Pain
by alchemyfreak42
Summary: Ed is kidnapped and tortured for information. What torments await him? Can he survive long enough for Mustang and Alphonse to track him down? If you don't want to read the tortury stuff, don't read it. Sorry for this, guys. It just came from my pencil, and ended up like this... Oh, and FMA/FMAB are not mine.
1. 1 Kidnapped!

**Okay, I really hate myself for this one. Ed is kidnapped and tortured! It popped into my head, and when that happens, I have this compulsion to write it down and find out what happens. No, I don't know what happens in my stories before I write them. I'm weird that way. I am very sorry for the tragic story. Be reassured, it ends well. **

* * *

After Ed discovers the main ingredients to philosophers stones. There is no mention of scar, their bodyguards, or the 5th laboratory. It's a fanfic, so if you don't like it suck it up. It's my story, not yours.

* * *

Ed walked along the streets of central, lost in thought. _How could anyone do something so horrible?_ Just thinking about the philosopher's stone made him angry. Ed turned into an alley, suddenly needing a quiet place where nobody could see him, even though nobody was on the street at the moment. He'd just turned in when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned quickly to see a man holding a gun pointed at him. He turned back around to see more men- he was surrounded.

Ed grinned- this was _definitely_ his element- throwing a pity party and being depressed? Not so much. Ed widened his stance, adrenaline rushing through his body. He brought his hands apart, preparing to clap, but men jumped to either side of him, holding his arms and preventing him from running or performing alchemy.

"Oh, no you don't, _boy_." A man with dark hair and cold eyes stepped forward. "See, we know all about you and how you only have to clap to perform transmutations. Here's a riddle: What is the sound of one hand clapping?" His smile made Ed shiver slightly. He gestured, and two more men stepped forward. One helped the man on Ed's right hold him still while the other disconnected Ed's arm. Ed's eyes widened with sudden fear. "That's right kid. I'm glad you understand." He looked at the men restraining Ed. "Take him to the car and do _not _let him go. Oh, and just to be safe..." He held up a glove. "Put this on him so he can't scratch transmutation circles on anything. This one cannot be allowed to escape."

Ed was dragged, struggling and yelling, to a car waiting in the street. Suddenly, his eye caught a flash of metal and he redoubled his efforts to escape. "Al! _AL_!" He yelled, forcing his head out of the car for a second before he was roughly yanked back in. "No, I can't get kidnapped- Al needs me!"

The leader entered the car quickly. "Go!" he commanded as the car sped off, tires squealing, just before Al reached it. "Damnit, boy! You nearly ruined it! You will pay for your actions."

"Screw you!" Ed yelled defiantly. His head snapped to the side as a guard smacked him.

"You will not be so arrogant when we are through," the leader said, his eyes cold and filled with cruelty. "Now be quiet or my friend will slit your throat." The man on Ed's right twirled a knife through his fingers, then placed it's icy steel edge against the boy's throat. He shivered and glared, but shut his mouth. He _had_ to make it out of here...

* * *

"Al! _AL!_" Alphonse looked up to see his brother's face disappearing into a car.

"Brother!" He yelled, racing forward. He was too late, though. The car raced away, giving Al a glimpse of Ed struggling desperately. Al ran to a pay phone and dialed quickly.

"Hello, how may I help you?" the operator asked politely.

"I need Colonel Roy Mustang on the phone, now!" Al shouted, his voice filled with authority.

"What is your code?" She asked.

"Put him on the phone!"

"I'm sorry, but I need a code to dial military personnel on their private lines."

"If you don't put Mustang on the phone _this instant_, I _swear_ to you on my _mother's grave_-" the phone started ringing.

"Mustang speaking." The voice was full of confident authority.

"Colonel!" Al cried, relieved.

"Alphonse? What's wrong?" He asked, alert. "Where's Fullmetal?"

"That's why I'm calling you! He was kidnapped!"

"What?! What happened? Tell me everything!" Mustang ordered, knowing that Ed's life could be on the line- every second counted.

"Ed went out for a walk- he was upset and needed some space. I waited for a little while, but he didn't come back right away, so I went out to find him. When I found him, he was being forced into a car, but I couldn't see the people who took him or get a license plate- they left too fast for me to catch it."

"Alright. We will start looking for your brother immediately. In the meantime, come back to the base. i don't want them to get it into their minds to go after you, too." There was a click and the line went dead. Al hung up the phone and headed for the office.

* * *

_Damnit_ Mustang thought, rubbing his temples. He looked up as Hawkeye walked in.

She frowned. "Colonel, is something wrong?" she asked, placing a file on his desk.

"Yes. Fullmetal has been kidnapped." Mustang sighed. "I have no idea how he gets himself in so much trouble. See if you can get any information- start asking around. We need to find him before they kill him." Hawkeye saluted. "Dismissed," he told her. She quickly turned and exited the office.

* * *

After threatening to cut his throat, the goons tied his arm behind his back and blindfolded him, then pushed him onto the floor of the car and put their feet on him, jeering and mocking him. After a long drive, the car stopped. They forced him out of the car and pushed him along, stumbling frequently. Ed couldn't figure out how far they went, but his foot and stump started aching by the time they pushed him into what felt like a metal chair. _When did we go inside? I don't remember hearing any changes in the sounds..._ Ed thought. He felt his right leg being tied to the chair. Judging from the sounds, they did the same to his left. Unfortunately, he also heard them doing something else. It sounded like they took part of it off and did something with the wires. _Uh-oh,_ Ed thought. _They shouldn't mess with my wiring. Winry'll kill me!...If I even live that long, that is..._ His blindfold was ripped off, revealing a small room with a table and another chair. The leader of the group sat in the chair on the other side of the table.

"Why did you bring me here? What do you want?" Ed demanded.

The leader picked up a device on the table and pushed a button. Electricity shot through Ed's body, leaving him breathing hard. The leader waited for Ed's breaths to slow slightly, then said "I will be the only one asking questions. You will answer them all. Am I clear?"

"You can ask, but that doesn't mean I'll answer," Ed got out between breaths. He gritted his teeth as electricity made his body spasm as it coursed through his chair, leg, and body. He slumped when it ended, gasping for air.

"Perhaps not yet, but by the time we are done here..." He paused, an evil light shining in his eyes. "You will be willing to do _anything_ we tell you to if you believe it has even the slightest chance of helping you. We are going to play a little game. Here are the rules:" he clasped his hands on the table.

"Number One: I will ask you questions." He gazed at Ed.

"Two: You will answer." He moved his arms to form a triangle with the table in front of him.

"Three: Your answers will be honest, complete, and prompt." He showed Ed a variety of pain-inducing tools.

"Four: If your answers are _not_ honest, complete, and prompt, we will cut, hit, electrocute, or do something at least as painful. I have a number of punishments for you. All are excruciating or extremely painful." He smiled cruelly.

"Five: If you lose consciousness, we will either revive you or wait for you to wake up. When you do, the interrogation will continue." He placed his chin on his clasped hands.

"Six: This will continue for as long as I want it to." His voice was clear and concise, drilling it's way into Ed's mind.

"Now, it is time to begin. First question: do you understand the rules of the game?" He waited for an answer. Ed spat. "And so we begin..."

Ed clenched his teeth as pain coursed through his torso, the result of a knife suddenly sprouting from his stomach.

* * *

**Wow, that was really intense, and I already wrote like the whole thing. Sorry Ed! I really don't like torturing you, but my mind is a little bit messed up. *Sniff, Sniff* I want to kill this bastard for torturing Ed! He's not a nice guy, in case you haven't noticed. **


	2. 2 Past Horrors

**StupendousPotassium, I'm sorry it's so sadistic. I seriously didn't mean for that to happen, but in my defense, I warned you. As I said already, I am compelled to write what comes into my head. No idea why. Again, it does have a happy ending, so bear with me. I think I actually may have started crying in this. Anyways, you may proceed if you correctly answer three questions: **

**1. What is your name?**

**2. What is your quest?**

**3. What...is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?**

**5000 points and an internet palace to the first person who responds correctly.**

* * *

"What do you mean, you can't find anything?!" Colonel Mustang demanded furiously. "It's already been two whole days since Edward Elric's kidnapping! We _must_ find him soon or we might not find him _at all_!"

"I _know_ that sir, but nobody saw a thing!" Jean Havoc protested in frustration. "These guys were careful. They planned this out in advance. They watched and waited until the time was ripe, and when it was they struck, taking Ed and leaving no traces at all!"

"DAMNIT!" Mustang roared, slamming his fist down onto his desk. "We have no idea who took Fullmetal or why, we've got no way of _finding out_ who took Fullmetal or why, and his brother is driving me crazy worrying about him! This couldn't _possibly _get _worse!" _He glowered as a young private scurried in, deposited a stack of folders on his desk, and fled. Mustang's wrath had become famous in the last few days, and nobody wanted it to be taken out on them, _especially_ not a private. Mustang turned to Hawkeye, fear and worry shining in his eyes. "What do I do?"

* * *

Ed lay on the floor limply. This was one of the few short breaks he'd been given since his kidnapping. He had no idea how long he'd been in captivity, but his stomach told him it'd been a few days at least. They'd given him a little water- just enough to keep his throat from giving out- but no food at all. His whole body ached, and the places they'd cut, stabbed, and burned him during his numerous torture sessions burned like fire. He was too weak to even move now. The door to the tiny room they kept him in when they weren't torturing him opened, and a burly man came in. _No, not again. I don't have the strength to keep this up for much longer..._ Ed thought as the man moved closer. "I won't...tell you...anything," Ed managed. He forced his body into a fetal position as the brute started kicking and beating him- that was how they moved him back and forth between rooms. They would beat him unconscious before transporting him to the room where Major Asshole, as Ed had dubbed him, waited. Ed struggled to stay awake, but his awareness slipped away quickly- it happened faster now, after so many attacks on his body.

* * *

When Ed woke, he was lying down on his back- that was new. He'd always been in the chair before. He tried to move, but couldn't- whether because of the straps holding him down or because he just wasn't strong enough, he couldn't figure out.

"Hello, Fullmetal Alchemist," Major Asshole said, leaning over so Ed could see his face. "We're going to try something new this time. How does that sound?" He held up a syringe full of a greenish liquid and Ed's eyes widened. "This serum will cause all of your worst nightmares to come real." Ed began struggling feebly. "Ah, so you understand. That's very good." He inserted the needle in Ed's arm and pushed it into his body. "Now all we have to do is wait for it to reach your brain and take effect." No sooner had he said this than the room turned black. A figure appeared before him- it was his mother. At first. As she turned to look at Ed, her flesh rotted and turned black. Her insides came out, intestines and organs sticking to her outside. Her head twisted the wrong way and her limbs grew. She slowly turned into the _creature_ that Ed and Al had created four years ago.

"No, No- this isn't real!"Ed howled as it reached out and touched him. "No, I'm hallucinating, it's not real!" He screamed, desperately trying to convince himself it was just a dream. But he could _feel_ its fingers on his face, his muscles frozen in terror. He could hear its raspy breathing and smell its rotten body.

"Why does it hurt, big bwother?" Ed looked down at the source of the pitiful, pain-filled voice. It was the chimera that Tucker had made from Nina and Alexander.

"Aagh!" He screamed in terror as the failed transmutation and chimera approached slowly.

"We're the same, Edward." Tucker appeared, standing by Nina.

"No, no! We aren't the same! I'm _nothing_ like you are!"

"Oh, but you _are_, big brother!" Alphonse yelled. "You took my body! It's all your fault, Ed! I hate you!" he yelled.

Ed had by now given up on trying to convince himself this wasn't real, so he fled. He ran and ran through the demolished city that had risen around him, but they were right behind him whenever he turned to look. Colonel Mustang appeared before him and seized Ed by the shirt. "What did you do?!" He demanded. "I went into your basement- I saw the floor!"

"I'm sorry-I'm sorry! Please, stop- I'm sorry!" Ed pleaded. Mustang threw him down and raised his hand, preparing to snap his fingers and incinerate Ed. He turned to run, but Scar stood before him now.

"-I will destroy this sinful arm!" Ed was blasted backwards and landed on the street, rain pouring down around him. Scar stalked towards him, then reached down and blasted his leg. Ed couldn't move if he tried. Scar turned to Alphonse, who was sitting with half his body missing- the way he had the first time- on the ground. "Because you created this thing, i shall destroy it."

Alphonse exploded into pieces, then the world fell silent with Ed weeping on his back. "Please, no...make it stop...please." His entreaties went unanswered, and slowly Ed grew aware that he was back in the lab, strapped to the table, but he couldn't stop shaking and crying. He was too afraid that it would come back. Ed's tormentor came in, but Ed made no motion of notice. He just shook and muttered feverishly, begging not to let the visions return.

"So are you willing to answer my questions now, boy?" He asked. Ed didn't respond or notice him. He just kept muttering, his eyes glazed over with fear. "Hmm. It seems I've finally broken your will." He twisted his face in disgust. "But your mind has snapped, too. Foolish boy." He began hitting Ed, unstrapped him and threw him onto the floor, kicking the limp boy, but Ed didn't even flinch once. He just kept staring and shaking.


	3. 3 Rescue at Last!

**Okay, Peacexfreedom, you only answered one of my questions. I'd give you partial credit, but you're actually the only person who answered any of them, so... YOU WIN! Anyway, sorry for not updating for so long. I just had a week of exams. KILL MEEEE! Fortunately, it's over now. Yay. I just have to do it again in may. And then December. And May again. And probably the next December too. It's a never ending cycle. Shoot me. Anywho, time to reads!**

* * *

"Sir, we're ready," Hawkeye announced as they gazed at a run-down building in the middle of nowhere, miles from the city.

"Good. We need to be careful- there's no telling what they've done to Fullmetal in a week. If I know anything about people like this, it's that they can do anything in a couple days, much less seven." Mustang's eyes were filled with agony, but then they hardened. "If they've done anything to that child, I swear on my mother's grave-" He broke off when Hawkeye put her hand gently over his.

"Stop, sir. Let's just find him, then we can worry about what comes next."

Mustang nodded. "Right. Let's move in. Alphonse, Hawkeye, come on." They ran towards the building. They had the place surrounded, in case they needed backup, but that was unlikely, and they were pissed- they wanted to make these bastards know just who they were dealing with.

Inside, lights snapped on and men came out of doorways yelling about intruders, but fell screaming at a snap of Mustang's fingers, or went down from the zipping bullets of Hawkeye's guns, or simply turned and ran at the terrible wrath of Alphonse Elric. He moved through the hallways like a fiend, hitting and knocking people down in a flurry of movement. When he turned to face men, some trembled in fear at the thought of just what this armored man was capable of. They came to the end of a corridor, where it branched off to either side.

"Hawkeye, Alphonse- you two go left. I've got the right." They nodded firmly and the group split. Hawkeye and Alphonse rushed down the strangely empty hallway, opening doors and calling for Ed as they went. One door was locked- Al opened it in seconds with a quick transmutation circle. Hawkeye rushed in, guns ready, prepared to defend herself- and froze in shock at what she saw.

Hawkeye had been prepared for almost anything. She'd been prepared to see Ed, spitting in the faces of his captors, Ed bleeding and unconscious, even to see him dead. What she hadn't been prepared to see was a... she struggled for the word. body on the floor. His golden hair was matted with filth and blood, no longer blond, but nearly black. Almost his entire visible body was black and blue and bloody. His signature jacket was missing, and his black shirt and pants were in tatters. His right arm had been removed, and his left was covered in blood, along with most of his visible body. His body was painfully thin. A man crouched over the unconscious body, holding an empty syringe. He took one glance at Hawkeye and Al and stood, pulling a second syringe from his white lab coat.

"It looks as though my little experiment has come to an end."

His voice yanked Alphonse out of his horror-induced shock. He leapt forward and seized the man by his collar, roaring with fury. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BROTHER?!" He shook the man violently. "What did you inject him with?! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Alphonse's threat had no impression on the man, who said "Sorry, you don't get that pleasure," before stabbing the second needle into his chest. He convulsed, and was dead in seconds. Alphonse threw his body across the room and turned to his brother's figure.

"Edward?" He asked gently "Edward, can you hear me? Wake up, brother, I'm here." At the sound of his name, Ed's eyes flickered open, then widened. At first, Al thought it was joy, but Ed's face grew shocked- no, horrified.

"No, no!" he protested weakly. "Not again- please, I can't do it anymore. Get away from me, stop it!" He somehow managed to push himself away from the iron beast looming over him. A blood-curdling howl of raw terror ripped its way out of his throat as the world turned white-blindingly white. He lay before Truth and the Gate. "No-nonononono! I already gave you your toll! What more do you want of me?! What more will you take?!" Truth didn't answer as the doors opened and black hands dragged Ed through the Gate.  
Once more, the things he'd seen over his life came back to grab at him. he scrambled back, but hit a wall, an he stayed there, shrieking and tearing at himself, trying to beat the things away and to block out their voices.

"Brother, I hate you!" Alphonse looked down on him, a figure of hate.  
"I saw the floor!" Mustang shook him violently by the shirt.  
"It hurts, big bwoder," Tucker's chimera mourned.  
"We're the same!" Tucker yelled, his eyes filled with insanity.  
"Why did you do this to me?" The creation that wasn't his mother rasped.

Alphonse and Hawkeye stared at Edward, trying to flee from his own brother. His head turned as he pushed himself backward, his eyes flicking from spot to spot filled with images that weren't there. Finally, his back hit a wall and cowered, screaming and shielding himself with his hand. Hawkeye tried to approach once, but he screamed louder and desperately tried to keep her hands away from him. He couldn't see the worry on her face or hear the desperation in Al's voice, begging him to snap out of it.

An age later, his breath caught and his eyes rolled up into his head as he collapsed to the floor. Hawkeye waited a minute to be sure he wouldn't wake up screaming again, then scooped him up in her arms and hurried from the room, just as Mustang arrived, breathing hard. He gasped when he noticed Ed.

"Heard...screaming...what...happened?" He panted.

"That bastard injected him with some sort of hallucinogen," the Lieutenant spat.

Mustang's face darkened as he stopped panting. "That man," he said furiously "is going to pay." He stalked toward the door, only to be stopped by Al.

"Don't bother. He's dead."

Mustang stared at Al. "Did you-"

"Kill him? No, he didn't give me the chance. He gave himself a shot and died immediately." The boy's voice was frozen over with hate. Mustang shivered- he would not want to be on the receiving end of that fury.

He turned his attention to the child's body in Hawkeye's arms. "Come on. He needs to get to a hospital."

* * *

Ed didn't wake up for three days. During that time, Alphonse never left his brother's side for so much as a second. He wouldn't let Ed out of his sight, and even insisted on going into the operating room when Ed had to have surgery. He constantly hovered over his sibling, wiping sweat off his face, and talking to sooth Ed's subconscious when he had bad dreams (which was about every five minutes or so. Give or take). The nurses couldn't do anything without first explaining what they needed to do or what medicine did what. It got annoying, Al's obsessive care, but people put up with it.

For one, Ed had been missing for a full week, and had been found on the brink of death. Then he had been injected with a hallucinogen and nearly died just from the fear. Nobody knew exactly what had happened to Ed in that week, but he frequently began screaming in his sleep, though he would calm down if Alphonse touched his shoulder or arm, speaking soft and comforting words of love. Not once, for three days, did Ed's eyes open.  
Finally, on the fourth day, his eyelids parted. His wounds ached, but not as bad as they had. Ed realized he was in a bed. What happened? He wondered. The last thing he remembered was- Oh, shit no. He was not thinking about that. Hell no, nuh-uh, not happening. He decided to think about where he was now, rather than being tortured. A much more pleasant subject. He'd been bandaged and was hungry and thirsty. His throat hurt. The hospital room- Ed had been in enough of them to know one when he saw it- was filled with flowers, presents, and cards. Literally every surface was covered in colorful flowers, even Al's armor. That connected a moment later. Al...was covered in flowers of every type. He looked so ridiculous that a chuckle forced itself from Ed's throat. It hurt, but it was just so damn funny. He started laughing, but tears of laughter quickly turned to tears of pain as he coughed, his broken ribs screaming in protest and agony.

Alphonse's head shot up from where it had been resting on his chest. "Brother! You're awake!" He quickly took in Ed's coughing and his pained expression, and took over. "Calm down and take slow breaths, not too deep. Focus on your breathing and the coughing will stop in a moment. You're going to be fine. It's over, we've got you."

Ed was in too much pain to think; he could only obey that gentle voice. The pain and coughing faded. "Al- Alphonse" Ed croaked.

"I'm here, brother. I'm here." There was so much worry and relief, and overall, love in Al's voice that Ed knew, without a doubt, that Al would never hate his brother, no matter what. The fears that Ed had been carrying since that horrible night, and that had been used as a torture device, had been ended. Tears of relief, grattitude, and love flowed down Ed's face, stinging the many cuts. Sobs wracked his thin frame as Al comforted him.

"I know, I know. Let it out, brother. It's over now. I've got you. You're safe now. Safe, you got it? I'm not letting you go. Shhh, I've got you."

* * *

**Yeah, I like the ending. I don't know if I should make that the end or if I should put in a little bit where everyone else comes to see Ed. Hmm, let's make it a vote. If you want me to, I'll put in another chapter where everyone comes to see Ed and it's all happy and stuff. If you don't, I'll just leave it here. Send me a review and tell me what to do. It's up to the readers! Whichever side wins will get their wish. Hmm, or I could just make another chapter and you don't have to read it. TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!**


	4. 4 Surrounding Love

**OK guys, I've waited about a week so that you guys could give me a few reviews and tell me what to do. I got 3 reviews on the last chapter, all requesting more. Thanks to kuro12, Freya the Mistwolf, and Necromancer15. Oh, and people: READ ROY AND HIS BROTHER REWRITE BY KURO12! IT IS AMAZING! Well, the original is good too, but it hasn't been edited yet. Anyway- read it! Gooood story there! OK, so I'm not really sure how I would stretch this story, but you guys wanted the mushy aftermath part, so here you are!**

* * *

Ed sat up to see people. He'd taken a nap after talking to Al for a bit- he was in bad shape, and it had exhausted him just to sit up, not even taking in the whole coughing fit and then the crying... He turned his mind back to the present. There were people- a bunch of them. All the people who worked with Ed fairly often were crowded into the room- Major Armstrong, Colonel Mustang, Hawkeye, and the gang, Hughes and his family, Winry had somehow gotten here, and of course, Alphonse.

"He's awake!"

"Ed, you're up!"

"EDWARD, WE WERE WORRIED!"

"Edman, you know, you gave my daughter quite a scare!"

"Edward, if you ever scare me like that again, I'll hit you so hard you'll see stars for a week!"

Everyone was talking at once- Havoc, Gracia, Major Armstrong, Hughes, Winry- the list continues. When Winry came forward, he flinched. He wasn't sure if she would hug him or hit him- hopefully, neither. He was so sore that everything hurt even without physical contact with other people. Everyone was so happy. Ed found he had tears in his eyes and brushed them away. The party went on around him, people shifting. The people constantly with him were Al and Winry, though. Al guarded him, and Winry kept looking at him with tears of love and relief in her eyes.

* * *

**Ok, so I wasn't really sure how to do that, but I managed to squeeze it out of me. I'm not really sure how I would expand it, but if you give me a few ideas, I can try. I have a new philosophy I found on someone else's story: Silence can quench any author's imagination- very true! So please review!**


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